It's impossible to predict the future, obviously, but we at the Phoenix have peered into our crystal ball in search of important issues that will arise in 2011. Herewith, our summary of what to watch out for:

Healthcare in MaineThe federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in March, will roll out significant health-insurance reforms between now and 2014. The new law changes the rules for health insurers, who are now prohibited from denying coverage or refusing claims based on pre-existing conditions; the law also expands Medicaid eligibility, subsidizes insurance premiums to provide incentives for businesses to provide health-care benefits, and establishes health-insurance exchanges to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to buy insurance. It requires that all citizens be insured, and subsidizes plans for people who can't afford them. Some changes have already been put into place, including allowing young people to stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26, and the issuing of a $250 Medicare rebate to seniors to help close a gap in prescription-drug coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 32 million of America's 50 million uninsured will have coverage once all the changes have been put in place (the majority by 2014).

In the summer of 2010, the state legislature established the Joint Select Committee on Health Care Reform "to study and analyze the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and to determine how best to comply with it," according to a July 4 op-ed by state senator Margaret Craven, a Democrat from Lewiston. "The committee will determine which state laws, rules and policies need to be changed, the dates by which they need to be changed, and options in the Affordable Care Act that the state may wish to adopt."

But the work of that committee, presented to the public last month, might be for naught. Governor-elect Paul LePage pledged during his campaign to repeal Maine's Dirigo Health plan, and he's vowed since Election Day to join a lawsuit challenging a key portion of Obama's plan. LePage favors private health-care options and "more choices in Maine's health care market," according to his Web site. We'll see in 2011 how much of the Affordable Care Act makes it to Maine.

Food for allOn December 8, the Campaign to Promote Food Security in Cumberland County Coalition — comprised of representatives from TD Bank, the United Way of Greater Portland, Preble Street, the Muskie School of Public Service, and several other organizations — presented a report showing that even in relatively affluent Cumberland County, "there has been a steady rise in food insecurity and increased demand for food resources." More than 12 percent of Cumberland County residents depend on government assistance (i.e., food stamps or WIC benefits) for food purchases, according to the report — and many food pantries are reporting an increase in clients served, combined with a decrease in food to distribute.

The coalition called for a number of changes in 2011, including a campaign to decrease food-stamp stigma, an increase in federal food benefits, expansion of school-lunch programs, especially during the summer, creation of more (better) transportation options to get food to needy people, and development of farm-to-pantry programs that were successfully piloted in the county in 2010. The Good Shepherd Food-Bank, for example, received a $300,000 from the Maine-based JTG Foundation in 2009 to distribute local foods to hungry families in 2010. The grant allowed the food pantry to pay wholesale prices to farms. Penny Jordan, of Jordan Farm in Cape Elizabeth, praised the program and called for more partnerships like it.

Nobody dies Some things in life are essential — beer, the MLB Network, caller ID — and some things aren't — tofu, Jay Leno, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

Instead of cuts: guts Let’s assume, reader, that you’re concerned about economic and social justice. For those in real need — people who are poor, sick, old, mentally ill, addicted, disabled — you want decent care. You’re concerned, too, about proper funding of schools, community colleges, and university campuses.

Does Portland want an elected mayor? The campaign to bring an elected mayor to Portland, a proposal championed by the city's charter commission as well as several arts and business groups, officially launched at a City Hall press conference on Tuesday.

Photos: MassCann's 2010 Freedom Rally MassCann, our state's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, hosts the 2010 Freedom Rally at Boston Common on September 18, 2010.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen This winning British movie, in which rumpled fisheries expert Fred (McGregor) and sleek exec Harriet (Emily Blunt) help realize the dream project of a sheik, brings to mind the classic Ealing comedies that starred Guinness.

Walking on broken glass There must be some kind of law that kicks in whenever a prominent politician leaves office, requiring every columnist and pundit to blather on at length about the triumphs and tragedies of that esteemed figure's checkered career.

Can Maine's Democrats come back from the dead? Let's skip over several huge problems the Maine Democratic Party faces as it tries to recover from its historic losses in November, when for the first time since 1964 the Republicans took control of both houses of the Legislature and the governorship.

LePage's secret bankers Paul LePage was making national headlines last week for all the wrong reasons: telling the NAACP to "kiss my butt" on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, dismissing the civil-rights organization as a "special interest" he won't be "held hostage" by after its local director expressed concern at his declining to participate in MLK Day events his predecessors had (see more here ).

What's missing? After an intense investigation into the backgrounds of Republican Governor Paul LePage's nominees for top administration posts, I've discovered an astonishing lack of diversity.

ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE | July 24, 2014 When three theater companies, all within a one-hour drive of Portland, choose to present the same Shakespeare play on overlapping dates, you have to wonder what about that particular show resonates with this particular moment.

CHECKING IN: THE NEW GUARD AND THE WRITER'S HOTEL | July 11, 2014 Former Mainer Shanna McNair started The New Guard, an independent, multi-genre literary review, in order to exalt the writer, no matter if that writer was well-established or just starting out.

NO TAR SANDS | July 10, 2014 “People’s feelings are clear...they don’t want to be known as the tar sands capitol of the United States."